Iran: British embassy staff 'played part in post-election protests' and will be tried

The head of Iran's Guardians Council has said that British embassy staff would
be put on trial for inciting violent protests following the country's
disputed elections.

Protesters at the British Embassy in Tehran: Anglo-Iranian relations are likely to deteriorate further in the months to come
Photo: REUTERS

By our foreign staff and agencies in Tehran

11:13AM BST 03 Jul 2009

"In these incidents, their embassy had a presence, some people were arrested. Naturally they will be put on trial, they have made confessions," Ahmad Jannati said.

Downing Street said on Friday that it was "very concerned" about reports that the embassy staff would face trial and a spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown said London was seeking urgent clarification from Tehran regarding the claims.

Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, a top Iranian cleric, made the announcement in a prayer sermon on Friday.

Seven of nine local British embassy staff members originally detained by Iranian authorities have now been released.

Iran rounded up nine British embassy employees it accused of playing a role in organising pro-democracy demonstrations, that erupted over the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Ruling hardliners have condemned the protests as counter-revolutionary riots. At least one Iranian British Embassy employee remains in custody and has been accused of playing "a significant role" in formenting protests.

Britain has rejected the allegations as baseless and demanded the immediate release of the staff members still in detention.

EU nations are reportedly considering a proposal from Britain to recall all their ambassadors from Tehran in protest at the Iranian action.

Iran has threatened to pull out of talks with the EU on its suspect nuclear research, which is subject to United Nations sanctions, in protest against its demands for the embassy employees to be released.

At least 20 people were killed after disturbances broke out in the aftermath of Iran's disputed presidential election last month. Two thousand people are thought to have been arrested by the authorities. The result handed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a landslide re-election victory despite massive rallies for his opponents.